Albany building owner begins $500K-plus apartment conversion project

Mitchell Newman has come full-circle on his plans to convert the upper floors of a building he owns in downtown Albany into apartments.

Newman, owner of a large newspaper delivery company in Manhattan, bought the building at the corner of Broadway and Pine Street in Albany in 2008 for $515,000.

At the time, he wanted to renovate the upper three floors into apartments. But he couldn’t find a trustworthy development partner, and got cold feet because of the economy.

He decided to sell the building last year. No buyers stepped forward, so he put it up for auction in August, hoping for at least $350,000. The top bid was only $182,000. Newman didn’t accept.

Then Newman reconnected with general contractor Keith Holmes of Centurion Realty Group in Troy, whom he had met a few years earlier.

They agreed to work together on the apartment conversion at the corner building, which is known as 111 Pine St. or 518 Broadway, and directly across from the pedestrian bridge that links downtown to the Hudson River.

Renovations will cost upwards of $500,000. Newman is seeking financial assistance from Capitalize Albany Corp. to offset the costs. The specifics have yet to be determined.

The upper floors will have nine one-bedroom units, each 500 to 700 square feet, with hardwood floors, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and ceramic tiles in the kitchen and bath. Rents will range from $750 to $1,050, plus utilities.

It is the latest residential project downtown, and comes at a time when a new study shows demand for downtown living has grown.

The study, commissioned by the Downtown Albany Business Improvement District, said 3,750 households would like to live downtown, compared to 2,440 households in a similar study that was done five years ago.

The study by Zimmerman Volk Associates, a New Jersey consulting firm, said the potential market is greatest for new apartments, followed by condos and townhouses.

Young single people and childless couples make up the biggest share of possible residents; retirees and empty-nesters are the next largest bloc.

Of the 3,750 possible new households, the study estimates 134 to 287 have the potential to rent or buy in a given year.

Newman and Holmes decided to go with nine one-bedroom apartments instead of six two-bedrooms because they think the smaller units will appeal to lobbyists and legislators who are in town a few days a week and don’t want to stay in a hotel.